A/N: Yes! I am finally back! I’m sorry I was gone so long, but I had a lot of stuff going on with school, and having tendonitis in my wrist on top of that….Tendonitis never fully goes away, but it feels WAAAAAAY better! So I’m going to try and get on a better schedule, and hopefully have anther chapter up soon! Thank you everyone, for sticking with me throughout my hiatus!!
~Lilith Kawanami
—————-

I set the guitar down, confused about what I really wanted. On one hand, I wanted Mom to get better, but I really want to get better at my music also.

I sat in front of the house, resting on the cool metal of the trashcan. I could not decide what I wanted.

“Hey,” Eithan said in greeting, when he arrived home from his friend’s house.
“Hey,” I returned the greeting, far less enthusiastically.
“You sound like you have a problem,” He stated.
I nodded. “I can’t stay here anymore, but I don’t want to leave Mom.”
“You should talk to her,” He replied.
“Hah!” I snorted. “She won’t listen! She can’t! She’s to busy being stuck in her own world! Remember? She was to busy to even take care of us, her kids!”
“Just try it, she’s more aware than you think,” He responded, before slowly walking away.

And that’s how I found myself here, sitting awkwardly on her bed.
The only sounds were the clacking of the keys on her computer as I watched her.
“I’m leaving Mom,” I said.
The clacking paused for a moment, making me think she might actually be listening, but then they flew across the keys, faster than before.

I leaned back on the bed. “I leave for Bridgeport tonight.”
The clacking continued, but now another sound. The soft sound of water hitting the keys of the computer…
Was she CRYING?

I walked over to her, and leaned over her shoulder.
“I leave tonight,” Telen said from the bed.
Her heart almost stopped. “You don’t need to, don’t leave, please,” The mother whispered towards her little boy, who was no longer so little. How had the time flown past so quickly? She still remembered when he was but a toddler.
He slowly walked towards me at my
She was listening…And responding, in her own way.
I slowly scrolled up through her writing. There were a few things from Dainan, a few from me when I was younger, and a lot from Eithan, telling her how we had been, and him actually responding to her questions…So he knew this was her way of communicating.

“I’m sorry Mom, but I’m still going. This is for my future. I hope you can understand,” I said, slowly walking away from her.
I heard her fingers moving like lightning across the keyboard, trying to say something, but I refused to check, and with one last look back at her, I grabbed the guitar and some cash, then called a cab.

A little later, the cab pulled up, and I climbed in.
“Where to, kid?” The driver asked.
“Bridgeport,” I muttered.
He whistled. “Got big dreams, eh kid? Well I can only drive as far as Apaloosa Plains, that okay with you?”
“Yeah,” I replied. Apaloosa Plains…That’s only a quarter of the way to Bridgeport….This was going to take more time than I thought…
I quickly dosed off, as we drove along.
——-
“We’re here kid,” The driver said, gentley nudging me awake.
“Wha…? Oh!” I startled awake, remembering where I was.
The cab driver gave me a friendly smile, and I handed him the money I owed, and hopped out of the cab.
I checked my cellphone, it was 5 pm, he had driven straight here. I smiled again, wishing I had given him a bigger tip.

I looked around, and saw a stage, with a beautiful sound coming from it.
I walked towards it, and saw a whole bunch of people dressed strangely, when I remembered…It’s Halloween tonight!
On stage was a girl with her dog. She was the one singing, and it was amazing, far better than I could have done.
“Mama’s gone, Papa’s gone, here all alone.
But that’s alright, I got my Buddy, the only one I’ll ever need.
Don’t know why they chose to leave, to not take me too,
But I’m over it now, with me and my Buddy,
Taking on the World!”
(I’m bad at making songs, I know, but I don’t have my friend to help me again!
)
She finished the song.

“Thanks for listening everyone, have fun tonight! If you’re interested in buying my demo, I have CD’s over here, $2 a CD!” She smiled out at everyone, before climbing down off the stage.

I knew I had to talk to her.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hey. You’re not from around here are you?” She stated.
“No…” I said awkwardly, rubbing my neck. “I’m on my what to Bridgeport.”
“Bridgeport!” She exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. “I have been saving up to get there! I’m Sierra, Sierra Miller,” she stuck her hand out.
“Telen. Youssef.” I smiled, shaking her hand back.

“Do you think…I could maybe come with you?” Sierra asked shyly.
“Definitely! I still need a band after all! Can you play any instruments?”
“I’m pretty awesome on the drums if I do say so myself,” she smiled.
“That’s awesome! But it’s getting late…Do you know if there’s any hotels or something I could stay at?” I asked.
“You can stay at my place, it’s just me and Buddy after all, but it isn’t much…” She replied.

She started walking, and her dog, presumably Buddy, followed.
“You coming?” She asked looking over her shoulder.
I nodded, rushing to catch up with her.
We finally reached a small red…cabin is the best word for it.
“This is home,” she smiled.

I followed her inside, and like she said, it was very basic.
“I use lanterns, so I don’t waste electricity, the bills are hard enough to pay as it is,” Sierra said, walking around and lighting all the lanterns.
“You have to beds?” I asked.
“One is for Buddy, he doesn’t always like to sleep in his dog bed.

As if to demonstrate her point, Buddy walked up to the bed, and was about to jump on it.
“Sorry,” she glanced at me.
“Buddy!” She called in a light tone, walking towards him.

She rolled him onto his back, petting his stomach, while he rolled around happily.
“We have a guest! Be good okay?” She laughed at him.”
“You’re probably tired, you can have this bed, go ahead and lay down,” She said, not looking up at me.
I relaxed on the bed.

“So why are you all alone? Where are your parents?” I asked her.
She quickly stood and froze.
“I..I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to impose,” I said quickly.

“No. It’s okay. I should have known you would ask. Three years ago my parents were killed in a car crash with my baby sister. I only survived, because I said I was sick, to get out of the family-time. I was devastated, but I hided the fact that I was alone. I couldn’t go into the foster system at my age. That’s when Buddy found me, he was just a pup then. We immediately became friends, and now he protects me, better than anyone else every could. Now sleep, we should get moving tomorrow. I already plotted out a journey to BP, so if you have the money, we can leave tomorrow. We can travel all day and stop in Sunset Valley for the night.” Sierra said, her face still blank. “Buddy, sleep time.”

The dog immediately went to his bed, and fell asleep, and Sierra soon fell asleep too.
I was to busy thinking of Sierra’s story, and how terrible it was. I know how it feels to live without parents.
Eventually, however, I slipped into a dreamless sleep.